So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

It was always the becoming he dreamed of, never the being.

The clean book bill will be one of the most immoral measures ever adopted. It will throw American art back into the junk heap.

For what it's worth: it's never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you find you're not, I hope you have the strength to start over again.

Artistic temperament is like a king with vigor and unlimited opportunity. You shake the structure to pieces by playing with it.

I could never be a Communist. I could never be regimented. I could never be told what to write.

A writer must find his own grain, way, bent. ...He aspires to create new and original works. His way is alone. If he succumbs to ideologies, he turns into a mouthpiece. He must hang on to his identity for dear life. In the end he must rely on his own judgment. It’s the only way to survive as a writer and an artist.

Art invariably grows out of a period when, in general, the artist admires his own nation and wants to win its approval.

Riches have never fascinated me, unless combined with the greatest charm or distinction.